Tom Cruise defies age and gravity in an epic spectacle!
Tom Cruise brings his superhuman abilities to another chapter of the MI franchise. While this isn’t the last chapter, it is a culmination of Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) actions from the very first Mission: Impossible that came out in 1996, almost 30 years ago! Since then, Cruise has been pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved on film in terms of stunts and set pieces, challenging cinema’s greats like Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan. The man’s maniacal dedication is on display, putting his life on the line for our entertainment and his passion.
Following the events of Dead Reckoning, in The Final Reckoning, the world is in danger of complete annihilation. This time it’s not personal, it’s global. In the movie’s universe, Hunt is the plan A, B and C for our species’ survival. A rogue AI called the ‘Entity’ has taken over the world’s media and brainwashed most of the population. Its goal is to take control of all nuclear ammunition across the globe and destroy most of humanity to build a new world order that it’ll govern.
There’s also Gabriel (Esai Morales), who intends to take control of the Entity and take over the world. Hunt has to deactivate the Entity before it takes control of all nuclear arms and before Gabriel controls it. Loosely, that’s the plot. McQuarrie’s script will try and trick you into believing serious business is going on and you need to pay attention. There is no need to do that. If you miss a piece of dialogue while munching on your popcorn, it probably wasn’t all that important.
45 minutes of exposition and character introductions later, when the movie gets going, it isn’t in a rush. This helps as the tension slowly builds up. Hunt finds himself in front of The President (Angela Bassett, playing the leader the world needs) and her chiefs, as they read the dossier they have on him, an homage to a similar scene from Three Days of the Condor. While they appreciate the incredulous career Hunt has had, they are more shocked by his request for a submarine. If any of this seems ridiculous to you, then please take note of the movie’s title. This isn’t mission difficult, my friend, it’s mission impossible. That means that situations that seem impossible will take place in the movie.
From that moment on, the movie escalates the tension until nearly the end, when Hunt is seen falling off a burning plane with a burning parachute on his back. On this, most impossiblest of all his missions, Hunt is supported by a team that trusts him implicitly. Benji (Simon Pegg) does his best to provide a few laughs while Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff provide the sex appeal. The movie would’ve benefited from more screentime for the women because Grace and Paris, respectively, are intriguing characters.
A who’s who of character actors show up as Hunt moves from one phase to the next of his mission, surviving by the skin of his teeth. The gimmick works here as well as it does in Oppenheimer. Once on the submarine, Hunt has to go deeper into the ocean to retrieve the Entity’s source code in icy cold water. The breathtaking sequence ends with a shot of Hunt fighting to get to the ocean’s surface, fighting with every fibre in his body to get there before he passes out. A solitary man’s fight for survival, shown in a long take underwater, is a cinematic and memorable image.
The editing for the action sequences is inspired as well. Because the shots are cut at unexpected moments during the intense scenes, they elicit genuine responses.
The cinematography enhances the stunt sequences. After Tom Cruise, if the movie is a showcase of anything, it’s the photography. The final plane sequence is in a class of its own, topping all the stunts Cruise has performed so far. You will see Cruise (who is 62 years old now, by the way) swinging on the side of planes, flying at breakneck speeds. It is amazing to witness, and for these brilliant sequences alone, the movie is worth watching in a theatre with friends and/or family.
Ethan Hunt – ‘You’re spending too much time on the internet.’